Garment-supporting attachment for the arms of theater chairs



F. I., LITTLEFIELD.

GARMENT SUPPORTING ATTACHMENT FOR THE ARMS 0F THEATER CHAIRS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 51 I922.-

. 43 3 Patented Dec.12,1922..

' I I INVENTORI- A TTORNEY.

Patented i2,

FLORENCE I. LITTLEFIELD, OF BUFFALO, NEE-V YORK.

GAB?. ENT-SUJPPOIBEING ATTAGZ-TTEENT F03 THE 6F THEATER CHAIRS.

Application. filed. April 5,

Toali whomdt may concern.

Be it known that 7 FLORENCE l. Lrrrnn- FIELD7 a citizen of the nited States, residing at Buffalo, county of nlrie, State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in GarmentS-upporting Att chments for the Arms of Theater Chairsqrand declare the following to be a full clear, and description of the same, such will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to'make and use the same reference being had totheaccompanyin drawings which form a part of this spocification.

lily invention hasfor its object to produce simple and novel construction and arrangement which will permit hats, coats or other garments to be conveniently hung from the arms of theater chairs in such a nner that they will not be in the way, will not become disordered will be readily accessible when it is desired to put them on, and will not obstruct the view of any one in the theater.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed outwith particularity in the claims; but, for a full understandinnof my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of an arm of a theater chair equipped with a supporting device arranged in accordance with one form of my invention. the supporting device being shown. in dotted lines in its working position;

Fig 2 a top plan view of the arm with the supporting device folded down upon the same:

Fig, '3 is a section aken on line 33 0 1; and

F i is a section taken Fist 1.

Referring to the drawing- 1 represents one of the arms of a. theater chair of any usual or suitable construction. My invention is particularly applicable to theater chairs and for the sake of brevity, I shall confine the detailed description to this use, although it will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to use in theaters only. Overlying the front end of the arm is a flat member 2 preferably curved clownwardly at the front end around the front line &4 of

1222. Serial No. 549,831.

end of the arm. The member 2 has flanges g at the sides so that the member 2 with its flanges covers the top, the end and the sides the front part of the arm. A bolt or plntle i passing; through the flanges and the arm forms a hinge connection between the member 2 and the arm. The free end of the member 2 may be made smaller and lighter than the base and in order not to leave any projection above theeffective top of the arm when the member 2 is folded down I provide the arm with a raisedirear portion 5, slotted or grooved longitudinally in thetop as indicated at 6 to receivethe lighter part 7 of the member 2; the parts being so proportioned and arranged that when the member 2 is in its lowered position as indicated in full lines in Fig. l and in Fig. 2, the effective top of the arm is a substantially continuous surface partly on the arm and sly on the member 2, In this position or the parts the arm is in effect an ordinary chair arm.

When it is desired to support a hat or other thing, the member 2 is swung upwardly and forwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, being preferably carried forwardly somewhat past a vertical line passing through the hinge axis so that it will not tend to drop back. When the member 2 is in its approximately upright position the extreme front or lower edge 8 of the downwardly curved portion thereof bears against the under side of the arm in. rear of the hinge axis so that the member 2 willbe held in its raised or working position the weight of the supported article or articles, which tends to swing the support forwardly, assisting in holding the latter in its raised position.

It will be seen that with my device a hat or other article may be hung up in front of a person seated in a chair where it will be out of the way but will be within easy reach. While the support extends high enough to serve as an effective support not only for bats but even coats, it does not interfere with the view of those behind it. When the device is not in use as a support it is simply swung back until it rests on the arm where it is out of the way and will not catch on the garments of those passing by.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with the arm out a chair, of a member extending along the top of the same and having flanges at the front end lying on opposite sides of the arm, a pivot pin extending through. said flanges and through said arm, and (lo-operating shoulders on the arm and on said member for sustaining the said member in an approximately upright position when it is raised into that position.

2. The combination with the arm oi a chair, of a slender post overlying the same and embracing the front portion thereof so as to "form the effective top of the arm, and connecting means between said arm and said post for permitting the latter to be swung upwardly from the position in which it forms the top of the arm and be retained in an approximately upright position above the arm.

3. The combination with the arm of a chair, of a member hinged at one end to the front end of the latter and having its other end free so as to premit said member neaasss to swing from a position beside the arm to an approximately upright position in which the free end projects above the top of the arm and the space above and in the vicinity of the major portion of the arm is left unobstructed and stop devices for permitting said member to be retained in such upright position.

4. The combination with the arm of a chair, of a slender post overlying said arm and hinged at one end to the front end of the latter so as to be capable of swinging in a -vertical. plane extending lengthwise through said arm, and means for maintaining said post in an approximately upright position in which the space above and in the vicinity of the major portion of the arm is left unobstructed when it is swung upwardly into that position.

5. The combination with the arm of a chair, of a slender post hinged at one end to the front end of said arm so as to be capable of swinging in a vertical plane parallel with the direction of the length of said arm and means for maintaining said post in an approximately upright position when it is swung into that position.

in testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

FLORENCE I. LITTLEFIELD. 

